Choosing between what is easy and what is right
by is that a grindylow
Summary: Draco has a choice to make: Choosing between what is easy and what is right... Hermione wants to help him with that, but he's not sure he can listen when he has the Dark Lord and bloodthirsty Death Eaters breathing down his neck
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - I do not own any of the characters, locations etc that have been mentioned in this story.**_  
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_A/N - I have published and deleted this story too many times to count, it was originally called 'Cruor Statua' but I slightly tweaked the main plot, so the title became irrelevant. I have almost finished now, it's only 10 or so chapters long and almost 20,000 words. While I'm a fan of reading long fics, I'm not a fan of writing them! But I promise this will be all published and finished very soon, especially if I find a beta (see below!) Thanks for reading, read and review?!_

She always thought that falling in love would be simple; she would find her Prince Charming, get over a few obstacles such as evil witches and poisonous apples, marry them and live in a palace. Just like in the Muggle story books. But of course, when one decides to date the Pureblood Slytherin Prince, Draco Malfoy, then things won't always be so straightforward. But hadn't Cinderella and Prince Charming come from different backgrounds? In the Wizarding World, Cinderella would be the lowly Muggle born and Prince Charming would be the Pureblood. It worked out between them didn't it? Hermione knew it wasn't so simple. This was real life, not some Muggle fantasy where there was always a happy ending. However, it was nice to dream and let your imagination run riot in the most difficult of times.

Looking out of the window through the net curtains, Hermione watched the activity outside and noticed people were strolling around as if they didn't have a care in the world. It was as if Voldemort didn't exist and as if he wasn't making a plan of mass destruction. But then again, she knew how they felt. She enjoyed having something else to focus on other than trying to bring the powerful wizard down. Being best friends with the 'Chosen One' was tiring. Since First Year she had pored over books on how to help him, she had conjured spells against figures of authority and spent too much time with her two best friends. She partly blamed them for her lack of female companions. She knew people liked her once they got past her ability to know every answer, and she liked them, but could she call them friends? She wasn't sure. But of course, there was no such thing as 'too much time' with Harry and Ron and although they annoyed her with their impudence some of the time, the rest of the time was spent having fun with them and she couldn't ask for better or more loyal friends. Each time Harry had defeated Voldemort, she and Ron had been by his side and both played key roles. The Daily Prophet lapped up that fact and didn't hesitate in coming up with the cheesy name for them that was the 'Golden Trio'.

Hermione sighed into her now lukewarm coffee and set it down. Her eyes roamed the café she was sitting in, and sighing again, she wondered why she had been asked to come here of all places. Hogsmeade was full of better restaurants and pubs and meeting places. It was the gaudy and tacky establishment of Madam Puddifoot's. Cheap Valentines decorations hung down from the ceiling and lacy napkins dotted around the tables. It was bustling, and she supposed if things weren't so complicated right now, she might enjoy herself and maybe even …"Sorry I'm late Granger." Hermione looked up at the interruption and gazed at the grinning face of the boy she had come to care for. His blond hair was sleek and his fringe was flopping in his eyes. He watched her for a second and then he pulled out a chair and sat opposite her.

"Don't worry, I love it here, I like to spend as much time here as possible" she said smoothly with a dangerous edge to her voice. Truthfully, she wasn't annoyed at all, but they had the same sense of humour and she knew that he'd understand her sarcasm.

Draco snickered then leaned in a little closer and his cool grey eyes met her amused chocolate-brown ones. He smirked slightly then dropped his voice and turned serious, "I'm sorry we had to meet here, it's a horrific place I know." He glanced round in disgust then turned back to Hermione, "But I doubt that there will be any death eaters hanging around here, so I figured that it would be the safest place to go". Hermione's eyes twinkled with glee and she chuckled. She slipped her hands on to the table and his hands met with hers in the middle of the table and she grasped on to his long white fingers. "Well we might as well look the part then…" she replied, inclining her head and looking at him beneath her eyelashes. Draco stiffened and glanced round. He knew that most people were aware that he and Hermione were together by now, but he was still wary. His mother and father didn't know and while he didn't expect to see them in such a place, he knew he had to check. Once he realised they were safe, he relaxed and reached out and twirled one of Hermione's curls round his little finger. "Stop distracting me…" he whispered and watched as Hermione giggled and withdrew her hand and rested her chin on her palm suddenly looking like she was here to do business. "So, what's happening then? I went to the library and there's nothing on any way to make Muggle borns be able to-", and it was then that Draco got lost in that passionate fire in her eyes.

He thought back to how this unlikely relationship had started. He couldn't imagine how he had ever hated this girl. He remembered lying in bed at Hogwarts staring up at the ceiling and thinking of new ways to infuriate the filthy Mudblood. He still felt sick to his stomach to think he had ever hurt her with the stupid insults he had thrown at her over the years and although she had forgiven him, he would never forgive himself. Ever since them both being made Head Boy and Head Girl, they had grudgingly accepted each other, but then realised that once they looked past the constant arguments and their different blood… Draco cursed himself silently. Blood. Stupid blood; it all looks the same anyway. _When he had seen the blood trickle from Hermione's wound during one of his Aunt's famous torture sessions, he saw it was red. It was just like his. After he had seen that, he had gone to his bathroom, slit open his palm and just watched the rivulets of blood drip down and mix in with the salty tears falling from his eyes. Stupid. He had been so stupid and foolish. He hadn't even bothered to magically heal the cut, he deserved that ugly scar._

Once they had got past the prejudices, they were remarkably similar. They were equally intellectual and both had witty comebacks always at the ready during their childish arguments. It started when they kissed for the first time. As soon as those forbidden lips met his, he knew that this was it. He groaned then; since when had he become such a sap?

"Draco?" Hermione was looking at him with a questioning look in her eyes. Had he been ignoring her? He wasn't usually so distracted. He snapped back to reality. "Yes?"

Hermione looked at him curiously, "You weren't listening were you? I was just saying how the only way your parents will accept me is if I was pureblood, and there's no chance of that happening and I would be ready to do whatever it takes, but I can't change my_ blood_ ". She huffed out a breath and frowned into the distance.

"Now now Granger, that's where I believe you're wrong" he drawled, casually leaning back in his chair. "While I see no need for my parents to accept you -" He raised a hand as he saw Hermione open her mouth to protest, "I understand that this is important to you. Though I doubt Tweedledee and Tweedledum will be happy about it."

Hermione raised her eyebrows and he saw a worried glint flash across her eyes. Hermione had kept on at him for weeks and he knew she wouldn't stop until something was done to make her feel approved. He inwardly rolled his eyes; the girl always wanted to be approved of, even by the worst people.

She brought him out of his thoughts and exclaimed, "Let's do it." With that, she pushed her chair back and walked round to him. She brushed her lips against his forehead and in a breath she said, "I have to go now. Ginny wants to meet up at the Three Broomsticks and I believe her exact words were 'Don't you dare stand me up for that blond-haired ferret'. But will you tell me the details of the blood changing process when we next meet? I want to make sure we know exactly what we're doing." Draco looked up at her, startled that she was leaving so soon. He was even more surprised that she was so willing to do something she knew nothing about; this was very un-Hermione. "Don't you want to even know what the potion is? What it involves?" Draco asked. Seeing her face flicker with thought, he added, "Of course if you really want to wait until we next meet then that's fine." He smiled reassuringly. She hovered by the table for a second looking at him and biting her lower lip, and then sped out of the café, with only the tinkle of the door marking her hurried exit.

Draco put his head in his hands and growled. He couldn't tell if she was actually in a rush or annoyed with him. This was what she wanted wasn't it?

However, no matter how much he said he was okay with it, he was not happy with this decision. He didn't want Hermione to change for him. He didn't understand why she wanted to do this so much. His family was Dark, part of Voldemort's plans and they weren't good for her. _He_ wasn't good for her; she was too pure. She was the Gryffindor golden girl, the swot, the nerd, the… basically everything that he wasn't. He briefly wondered if she was only with him to try to persuade him to go to the 'Light side'. Maybe she thought if she started with the youngest Malfoy member, Draco would then persuade his own family to defect and then everyone else on the Dark side. Ha! He shook his head of these silly thoughts. Even if that were true, she wouldn't need to be in a relationship with him to do that. She could simply befriend him.

Draco was just grateful to whoever created the potion, for it was only temporary and didn't change your blood as such, it just masked it. Saying that though, it was only temporary if you could find the other potion to reverse it; if not, then you're stuck. Looking around the café, he noticed he was getting a few odd stares as he was sitting on his own. Scowling at them, he marched out and Apparated directly from Hogsmeade to just outside the Malfoy Manor boundaries and slowly walked back to his childhood home, also known as hell on earth.

_Beta request - I really really really would like a beta reader, someone who could look over any grammatical mistakes, spelling mistakes, or punctuation mistakes. Eventually, they will also need to help me with the ending, because I'm almost finished, I'm just not sure how to end it. It would be great to have a beta who's confident in writing descriptions too just in case there's too much dialogue in a chapter, but if not then I just need what I stated above :) PM me if you're interested!_


	2. Chapter 2

~Draco POV~

Draco walked through the now permanently dark gates up the driveway and into the Manor. The doors creaked open and he tried to silently make his way up to his room. He wanted to avoid the Dark Lord and his minions at all costs. He shuddered just knowing that _those people _occupied the West Wing of his home. A crack to the left of him interrupted his thoughts. Draco turned towards the noise and noticed Ceci the house elf standing there, cowering under his stare. He softened his expression and smiled encouragingly. Ever since being involved with Hermione, he couldn't help but be taken in by her passion for Elfish Welfare.

"M-master D-draco… Lady Malfoy requests your presence in the Drawing Room" Ceci squeaked, while bowing so low her pointy nose touched the floor. Draco groaned, and Ceci backed away instinctively. Draco then thanked her for the message and once she had Disapparated, he leant back against the wall and took a deep breath. So much for entering quietly. He hated that room and he hated how dark it was everywhere. Pushing himself off the wall, he dragged his feet to the Drawing Room and pushed open the doors. Seeing his mother stiffly sat at the table, he joined her and sat down, equally stiff.

For a few seconds they just stared at each other. Draco couldn't get over how quickly his beloved mother had aged recently. Hair that was once sleek and blonde was quickly becoming ratty with wisps of grey. Her eyes had heavy bags and they looked sad and hollow. Suddenly she spoke with a voice barely above a whisper, "Draco, where have you been today? Your Father and I missed you at lunch." Draco knew that when she said 'Your father and I', she just meant her. His Father was too busy completing tasks for his Master and failing them miserably. Gone were the days where his Father was his role model and he always defended him. His Father was a coward and nothing more.

"I was away in Hogsmeade doing some errands. I bought some new dress robes and I also met up with Gra-.. Goyle. I met up with Crabbe and Goyle." Draco cleared his throat, feeling colour rise up in his cheeks and hoping his mother wasn't as sharp as usual and hopefully missing his poorly disguised mistake. Narcissa's eyes narrowed and then she nodded and stood. As his mother stood, Draco also stood up quickly. He may be angry almost all the time with his parents, but he still kept his manners.

As Narcissa walked out, Draco took that as his cue to leave and quickly paced up the stairs and shut himself in his room before he could be confronted by anyone else. He stared round at his green and silver room and felt momentarily comforted by the Slytherin colours. The faded Quidditch posters zoomed round and waved at him until the motion repeated again. Draco remembered when Hermione had shown him a Muggle poster and he couldn't understand why they weren't moving and recalled staring at it for ages waiting for the man to move.

Hermione. What was he going to do? Maybe this blood change potion won't work. Maybe it only works on certain witches and wizards; not on Muggle borns. Maybe it would be impossible to get the ingredients for it or it would take years and years to brew. Draco stood there in the middle of his room staring at the posters blankly for half an hour just thinking of all the ways he might not have to go through with it. It was his own fault of course for suggesting it, but he felt so bad seeing her disappointed and he wanted to make her happy. No, he_ needed_ to make her happy.

His world revolved around her now, and it was a welcome distraction from the more complicated things in life. Heaving a sigh, he knew where he had to go. Coincidentally, it was also Hermione's favourite place in the world: the library.

Sneaking out his room, he walked down the corridor and pushed his way into the Malfoy library. Ignoring all the normal and Ministry regulated books at the front, he strode to the back which was where all the Ancient and Dark magic books were kept. As a boy, he wasn't allowed to go anywhere near this section, and there were various wards to make sure it stayed like that. But as soon as he had turned 17, the wards were dropped and he was allowed in. In his opinion, these books should be destroyed but they had been handed down through the Malfoy family for generations and it would be considered a crime not only to the family but to all Pure-blooded witches and wizards if the books were set alight. He imagined there were various spells on them anyway to prevent anything like that happening.

Running his fingers along the spines of the books, he found the book he wanted and flicked it out. Flipping to the page he needed, he looked up 'Cruor Statua' and thanked Salazar that he knew Latin. He thought back to how he had come up with the idea to use this particular potion… _Draco was sat around the Drawing Room table with all the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord. It was cold, dark and gloomy. A heavy stench of stale blood had drifted up from the dungeons and he crinkled his nose in revulsion and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, placed between his mother and father. He wondered why he and his mother had been summoned here; he supposed the Dark Lord was in a good mood to want to include them. He kept his eyes on the stained glass window behind Dolohov and tried to ignore the muffled screams from below. "My friends… my followers…" the Dark Lord wheezed, "I have summoned this little… gathering, to tell you that a most heinous crime is being committed against me… silly witches and wizards have devised a way to hide their blood status from me. The Muggle Born Registration Commission is failing to wipe out the desired blood from the magical race. The ancient potion that masks blood status has been re-discovered." The Death Eaters around the table gasped and whispered to each other as Voldemort circled the table, his snake eyes darting around the room. "SILENCE." He bellowed. The table hushed and Draco bowed his head so that his chin touched his chest. Voldemort carried on, "This is a problem for us… but we may also be able to use it to our advantage."_

Draco shuddered at the memory and remembered his terror at being in that dreaded room. His hands had trembled uncontrollably, but at least he could admit his fearfulness. His Father had held his head high and acted as if his hair wasn't falling out from stress, as if his eyes didn't showcase his fear and as if his lips weren't tight with worry and anxiety.

Looking down at the page again, Draco ran his index finger over the ingredients and whispering them to himself so he could remember them. He was confused to see the ingredient of 'Aconite' there. Surely that was only used to be a heart sedative? His eyebrows knitted together in concentration; of course, it was also used as a pain reliever. He supposed the Aconite would be used to counteract any pain caused by the potion. He went to the bottom of the list and gulped. "The potion also requires 5ml of Pureblood from the same gender as the subject" Draco murmured to himself. He smiled slightly at the thought of asking his mother to give some of her precious blood to some Mudblood he had the hots for. Draco knew it was more than that, but his mother would just see it as a phase and try to force him to go out with pug-faced Pansy instead.

Pursing his lips, he was just about to put the book back when he heard footsteps behind him. Draco froze and felt cool breath tickling his ear. "In the naughty section Draco?" the voice hissed. It was Bellatrix. "What could you possibly be looking for in here?" she asked with a sickly sweet voice he knew to be false. Draco turned towards the voice and met his Aunt's mad eyes staring him down. Impulsively, he took a step backward and cleared his throat before speaking. "I don't… I think…" Bella moved a step closer and hissed, "Spit it out Draco darling." Her eyes glanced down and flashed with curiosity as she saw the page he was on.

Draco knew he needed to make something up and while he knew there would be dreadful consequences if his Aunt found out he had lied, it was his only option. He stumbled over his words before clearly replying, "I saw the Mudblood today and I have a plan. I'm going to make her believe that I want her, and then I'll say the only way we can be together is for her to be Pureblood. But if this potion is brewed incorrectly, it can have disastrous consequences. Well, disastrous for her anyway." He sneered unconvincingly and waited for Bellatrix to reply. She cackled madly and jumped up and down, "Good plan dear boy! Wait until the Dark Lord hears, just wait! The Golden Trio won't be acting so high and mighty now!"

However just as Bella turned, Draco put his arm out. She turned in annoyance and glared at him. "No, don't involve him, not yet. I need to make sure I can convince Hermi-the Mudblood that I want her. Just wait." Draco hoped his lie had worked. Bella regarded him for a second, then gave him a curt nod and skipped out humming under her breath. He exhaled in relief and put the book back. That was too close.

He walked quickly back to his room, keeping close to the walls and trying to be as quiet as possible. Everything felt so hopeless. He didn't know how long he could trust Bellatrix not to tell the Dark Lord of his 'plan'. Just as he was going to go to the garden to clear his head, the fire roared into life and Blaise's head was there. Draco looked and greeted his friend with a small smile. "Hey Blaise, what's up?" His old friend had always been there for him. Both of their families were equally messed up, but luckily for Blaise, he didn't have the most Dark and powerful wizard in the world residing in his home.

"Just dropped by to see how you were doing. Saw the Mudblood earlier, she looked a little flustered, anything I need to know about?"

Draco bristled at the insult. "Don't call her that. No, there's nothing you need to know. I'm not in the mood… my Aunt and I have just had a confrontation."

Blaise looked Draco up and down with concern in his dark eyes. "Well you don't seem to have any damage, she didn't Crucio you did she?"

Draco snorted at the thought. "No, nothing like that. We just had a small argument. It's fine now, just leave me alone please? I'll talk to you another time." Draco replied. Blaise regarded the blond with concern which quickly turned into annoyance.

"Suit yourself." As quick as he had come, the fire was soon empty again of any floating heads.

Draco sat down on his bed and grabbed at his hair. What was he going to do?

_Beta request - Still looking for a beta, PM if you're interested_


	3. Chapter 3

~Hermione POV~

Hermione glared up at her two friends. Ever since she had started being involved with Draco, they had been terrible friends, and it was as if they had forgotten she was still the same old Hermione, but just happier now. Draco. She wondered what he was doing. She missed his stubbornness, his cheeky grin, his arms around her, his pale lips on hers… "But 'Mione, I just don't see how your blood status isn't getting in the way of this so called 'relationship'!" Ron protested. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "He's changed Ronald, you don't even know him. Since… since previous events, he's changed his views. We're happy together, why can't you just accept that?" she spat, standing up now with her arms crossed defensively in front of her.

Ron paced around the kitchen and kicking a chair over in the process, he spun round, his ears flaming. "Yeah? _Happy, _are you? Then why hasn't he contacted you in over two weeks? Answer me that. He hasn't even thought about you since you met up in Hogsmeade. Take a hint Hermione. He's scum and you know it. He's bad for you!" he hissed, with his hands bunched up in fists. Harry, who had been quiet during this argument, stood up and pushed Ron back slightly and whispered something to him. Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed.

Looking up, she noticed Ron had gone out of the room and it was just her and Harry. Harry stepped forward and smiled sheepishly, his green eyes glittering behind his glasses. Hermione relaxed her stance and put her arms to her side and stood there awkwardly.

Suddenly, she felt tears gathering behind her eyes and flung herself at her old friend, gasping for air and sobbing in his hold. "It's… it's just not _fair, _Harry! How can he accept you and Ginny and not me and Draco? Love is love, isn't it?" she sobbed noisily into his shoulder. Harry patted her awkwardly on the back and pulled away. Focusing on the clock behind Hermione's head to avoid her eyes, he said, "Hermione, you have to understand where he's coming from though. Malfoy has always bullied you and teased you and it will just take a bit of time for him to understand that now you're… that you're now… you know." Harry stood back uneasily and watched the tear stained Hermione carefully. "Look" he soothed, "We want you to be happy, but just don't expect Ron to be accepting any time soon." Hermione looked down at the old stained floor beneath their feet and nodded slightly. She whispered, "And you?" Looking up she saw Harry shrug apologetically and walk out the cosy kitchen.

Not long after, Hermione heard someone else's footsteps approaching the kitchen. Wiping her eyes, she composed herself and looked up to see Ginny looking at her oddly. "For the record" Ginny stated, "My brother is an ass and doesn't deserve you as a friend. Who cares that you're going out with the ferret-" Ginny smirked at Hermione's frown and carried on, "-if he makes you happy, then that's what's important right? Besides, I think bringing down You-Know-Who and his little followers is more important. You just need to be careful not to get involved in all that Pureblood supremacist crap. We don't want you going Dark now, do we?" she teased. Hermione smiled slightly and avoided her eyes. Ginny hadn't realised what she'd said. She didn't know exactly what Hermione had planned to do. _"Pull yourself together, act natural, act natural!"_ Hermione silently scolded herself. Meeting her gaze again, Hermione jumped up and beamed at her ally. "So," she said, hoping to change the subject, "what are you getting for Harry's birthday? I know its ages away, but you want it to be good, right?" The rest of the evening was spent in Ginny's room deliberating what to get Harry and giggling over the thought of giving him one of the famous Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products.

Later that night, Hermione lay in her bed listening to Ginny's deep breaths as she slept. Lucky her, she thought bitterly. At least her boyfriend was in the same house as her. Hermione thought back to the time in Hogsmeade. Maybe she had left the café too quickly? She was in a rush and Ginny would have been angry with her. Hermione bit her lip wondering if Draco was okay. She then thought of the plan. Could she really change her blood status? She had no immediate family left anyway, and all her other relatives had disowned them; they weren't so excited at the prospect of having a witch in the family. .. People thought she was proud of her Muggle born heritage, but in reality, she was ashamed of it. As she had stated many times before, book knowledge did not compare to natural talent. But when she said natural talent, what people didn't realise was that she meant blood status.

She hated being labelled as a Muggle born, and a 'filthy Mudblood'. Although she had never needed popularity to be successful in her studies, she knew that Purebloods were favoured over Muggle borns no matter what anyone said and it made no difference if some of the Hogwarts professors labelled her as 'the brightest witch of her age'. In the real world, the working world, it made no difference. But blood did. She didn't think employers were supposed to discriminate, but she bet they did. What was stopping her from changing her blood? Even if she didn't stay with Draco, she would be forever in his debt for helping her. But fingers crossed she would be with Draco for as long as they both loved each other. She knew she would do anything for Draco and she hoped that he felt the same.

Sighing, she raked through her knowledge of blood status potions and realised she didn't know anything. She didn't dare think on where Draco had got the information of the possible way to change her blood, she knew it would haunt her and would definitely make her question her morals. But what were morals in this world anyway? Muggle morals were entirely different to Wizarding morals. Hermione rolled over on to her side and stared at the photo frame containing her, Harry and Ron waving at the camera and jokingly jostling each other. It had been just before the start of their Second year and the photo had been taken in Diagon Alley outside of Ollivanders. She had so many memories with these two boys. They would hate her if they knew what she was thinking of doing, and probably something worse if she actually went through with it.

But did she want to go through with it? The past 4 months had gone so fast, and she supposed that lovesick Muggle authors may call it a 'whirlwind romance'. Forbidden lust and raging hormones had played key parts in the starting of the relationship, and while she was scared at first, people had become accepting. Hermione had told her own Gryffindor friends that Draco would be loyal to her, and he made her happy. She didn't know what Draco had told the cunning Slytherins. Sighing again, she rolled over on to her other side and was startled to see Ginny staring blankly at her. Hermione curiously stared back and cocked her head to the left.

"Everything's going to be okay you know?" Ginny whispered encouragingly. Hermione looked down with doubts filling her mind.

"Ginny… sometimes… sometimes I wish things were different you know? I'm ashamed to say it, but I resent my parents for not being Pureblood. Things would be much easier." Hermione looked up, fearing judgement in her dear friend's eyes, but instead was met with a head of hair. Ginny had obviously fallen back to sleep as fast as she had woken up. Hermione was thankful for this; Ginny probably wouldn't be so approving of what she had said.

Staring back up at the cracked ceiling, Hermione started counting the days to when she would see Draco again. What Ron said wasn't completely true… Draco had been in contact with her, albeit only briefly and under another name. That name was Viktor Krum, and Hermione was surprised that Ron hadn't made more of a fuss about that. The message had simply said 'July 3rd. Leaky Cauldron. 3 o'clock. Viktor.' That letter was still crumpled in her jacket pocket. Hermione would know Draco's handwriting from a mile away. Since Viktor Krum's departure after Fourth Year, they had decided it was a name that would make most sense for her to be keeping in contact with and a good disguise. It was just in case the owl would be intercepted by the Ministry and wonder why the famous Malfoy heir would be contacting the lowly Mudblood. Glancing down at the scar on her arm, she actually smiled. Although she resented that… that _bitch _for doing it to her, it was what had brought her and Draco together. Pulling up the blankets around her, Hermione descended into a troubled sleep full of nightmares and terrifying thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N - Such a short chapter wow! I'm so terrible at writing loads, sorry!_

~Draco POV~

Draco had been awake since dawn and today was the day that he would see Hermione again. He didn't want to sound like a lovesick puppy, but he was excited. He summoned Ceci and asked for some pumpkin juice. Once she had given it to him and Disapparated, Draco sipped it and tried to calm the flutters in his stomach. Blaise would laugh at him if he knew how excited he was to see his other half today. To see the _Mudblood_. Draco stood up and put the glass on the side. Seven hours until he was seeing her. He tried to remember what she looked like; each detail. But then, how could he forget? He couldn't wait to run his hands through the dark curls that framed her face and be taken in by those kind chocolate-brown eyes that had always captivated him. Why did he ask to meet at 3 o'clock? It was so long away. Though of course, he did know. Diagon Alley would not be so busy in the mid-afternoon and the Leaky Cauldron even less so. He looked in the mirror at himself and saw the usual pale, pointy face staring back at him with cold grey eyes. He was so different in comparison to Hermione; she was so warm.

A short knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. Draco turned his head slightly towards the noise and wondered who would want him at this time in the morning. He crossed his fingers and hoped it wasn't his deranged Aunt. He had successfully avoided her since their disagreement in the Malfoy library but he knew she'd find him eventually. He shook his head of the thoughts and uncrossed his fingers; woe betide if anyone saw him performing the Muggle action that he had adopted from Hermione. "Come in." he said quietly with formality ringing in his tone.

The door nudged open and there stood his father, looking as bedraggled and tired as ever. His white blonde hair was loose and greasy in front of his eyes and light grey stubble took up the bottom half of his ghostly face. The clothes he was wearing were extremely faded black robes and they hung limply against his frail figure. Lucius used to be one of the most well dressed Purebloods around and although Draco hated to admit it, he now looked like a tramp. How was it that the greatest wizard in the world had some of the richest followers, yet they turned out to look like homeless people? Most of them were upstanding Purebloods and they were now also completely insane. They had gone mad with power and it had backfired greatly.

Draco straightened out and stood stiffly with his hands folded in front of him. "Yes, Father? What is it?" Lucius rushed into the room and slammed the door behind him. He ran up to Draco until they were nose to nose and his eyes were frantic with… worry? Draco couldn't tell. He felt slightly panicked by his father's actions. "Draco… Draco you need to leave." His father rushed out in a breath. "The Dark Lord, he wants to give you a task. You can't…. you won't be able to." Lucius paced up and down the room before setting himself down on Draco's bed and burying his face into his hands. Draco heard a small moan pass his father's lips and noticed him keep looking at the door frantically.

He decided maybe it was time for him to speak, but his thoughts were so muddled up he wasn't sure what would come out of his mouth would even make any sense. "Father, what are you saying? Have you gone completely mad?" Draco hissed. Suddenly his father stood up, "Mad? Me? You are mad if you don't leave!" he roared. Lucius dropped his voice and stared at his shoes, "He wants you to kill Potter's best friend." Draco stepped back and stumbled. No. Not Hermione. He wouldn't. He couldn't. Lucius looked up at him, "Ronald Weasley. He wants you to kill him." Lucius would usually spit out the Weasel's name but he didn't have it in him, he was too exhausted. But Draco ignored this fact. It wasn't Hermione. She was going to be okay. "You need to leave Draco. Your mother and I will make up a story. We need to protect you. The Dark Lord will send for you in the next few days or so. Please consider leaving." Lucius didn't meet Draco's eyes and turned on his heel and strode out the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

It wasn't until the door shut that Lucius' words had the full impact on Draco. He saw black spots in his eyes and lay down on the floor in the foetal position. His shoulders started trembling and his breathing became erratic. Ron? _Draco _had to kill _Ron?_ Draco had to kill_ Hermione's best friend?_ Draco had to _kill?_ No. This couldn't be right. He ran his fingers through his platinum hair and exhaled noisily. His Father was right. He had to leave. But where would he go? He couldn't really see himself turning up at the Burrow and saying "Oh hi Mrs Weasley, I've been told by the Dark Lord that I have to kill your youngest son so I've not really got anywhere to go now, so I was wondering if I could crash here?"

Draco stared down at the scar on his palm and thought about Hermione then. Should he tell her? What would she say? Would she leave him? His heart started pounding madly at the thought. He started screaming and ripping the posters off the walls. He kicked over anything in his way and punched the wall multiple times. The blood from his knuckles started staining the wall and he only stopped when he felt bony and delicate hands on his broad shoulders pull him away. He was pulled into an embrace and he breathed heavily into the shoulder of his dear mother. He inhaled her elegant floral scent and felt himself calming down. When he realised how unnaturally close they were, he drew back and stared at his mother who was regarding him with worried teary eyes. "Draco, Draco, breathe slowly my darling and calm down" she said softly. Her hand briefly touched his cheek and turned away to look at the damage in his room and allow him to compose himself. Draco took in a deep breath and said shakily, "I have to leave don't I?" His mother turned back to him and nodded slightly.

At that moment Draco thought back to his memories he had with his mother. He remembered when he was 9 years old and she had read to him. It was before Voldemort had come back and those days were happy. Something as simple as his mother reading to him had such a profound effect on him and he thought it was sad that was one of only a few happy memories. He hadn't known much about the bad wizard, and in that memory all he could think of was his mother's hair tickling his cheek as she read Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump to him. His mother hadn't always been so stiff and so calm and collected. The Pureblood witch had been brought up in a well to do family, but her son had usually come before her manners. She had once been caring and acted like a proper mother.

Draco knew that since being with Hermione, he had been subconsciously isolating his mother, and he felt sorry to think that she had been left alone in the house with the gruesome crowd that now occupied part of it. No wonder she looked so pale and troubled all the time; her marital home had practically been turned into a convention for the most evil people who existed. He never knew why she put up with it. He didn't know how she could still unconditionally love such an evil yet cowardly man. How had she stood by him in all of this? He supposed that it was for his own sake, yet a small part of his brain told him that she was waiting for Lucius to realise what he was doing and maybe even leave all of this. But Draco knew that it was unlikely his father would ever leave Voldemort whilst he remained alive.

Narcissa drew out her wand and with a simple flick she had put his room back in order. Her face was blank once again and after briefly touching his hand, she walked out. It was then that Draco felt the unfamiliar sensation of emotion. He hadn't felt emotion like this since he had realised that he loved Hermione. He sat and he cried. He cried for his past, his present and his future. He cried for the task that Voldemort had set him and he cried at the thought of losing Hermione. The tears came until they could come no more and his voice was hoarse with emotion. Numb, he felt numb.


	5. Chapter 5

_A?N - I like this chapter but I also really hate it haha. I make Hermione out to be such a drama queen, but wow okay I don't know. This chapter also perfectly portrays why I don't even attempt to describe smut scenes, I can't even do a kissing scene justice! Apologies.._

~Hermione POV~

Hermione tapped her fingernails on the table impatiently. He was late as usual. She didn't know why she bothered coming when they had agreed, she should just come half an hour later which is usually when the Slytherin strolled in without a worry in the world. Hermione would never stand for this sort of behaviour from Harry and Ron and would berate them if they dare turned up a minute later than they were supposed to, but it was different with Draco. She didn't know why it was different, it just was.

Her eyes squinted into the darkness of the Leaky Cauldron. It was always so dark and gloomy in here now. The times when it had been lit up with candles and people animatedly chatting had gone. People hardly came in here now in fear of a possible raid by the Death Eaters. It was only her and two other regulars that occupied the once popular pub.

Hermione suddenly heard chairs being scraped and tables being moved and noticed Draco getting closer to her. Once he was in front of her, she beamed up at him and motioned for him to sit down. Her smile faded however as she looked closer and realised that his eyes were red rimmed and they looked stormier than ever, frantic even. "What-"Hermione started to say until Draco grabbed her wrist from the table and pulled her up. She winced in pain and as she started to protest and pull away, he dragged her into a corridor that led off from near to their table. Before she could say anything, he had pushed her against the wall and was desperately kissing her, with his hands gripping the sides of her face. Hermione made a small noise of both pleasure and bewilderment at the back of her throat and sunk into his embrace. She hesitantly put her arms around his neck and opened her mouth slightly. He dove in and their tongues danced around each other. She ran her fingers through his platinum hair and drew him closer to her.

Then suddenly, as quick as the kiss had started, it ended and he pulled away and leant against the opposite wall. They were both panting heavily. Hermione looked down in embarrassment and stared at her shoes with a blush creeping up her cheeks. What had gotten into him? Finally, he spoke. "Sorry about that" he drawled. Hermione looked up and saw Draco smiling slightly; however the smile didn't reach his eyes. "No problem really, it was um… nice" she whispered. A groan bubbled from his lips then and he moved forward, gently placed a hand on her hip and guided her back to the table. Once he had made sure she was seated, he took a place at the table himself.

Hermione gazed at him uncertainly and started biting her bottom lip. His hair was ruffled now and his lips were slightly swollen. He looked beautiful… She shook her head of these shallow thoughts. How could she think like this when he was obviously troubled about something? Draco was staring at a spot on the table and seemed to be waiting for her to say something, so she did. "Draco… are you alright? You seem a bit… angry. Or sad. Or something." Draco laughed bitterly and fixed his eyes on hers.

"Hermione, I have to tell you something. You've always told me it's good to be honest, even though it did backfire once when I told a first year I didn't like her hair." Hermione smiled at the memory as Draco carried on, "But you're not going to like it, and I don't expect you to stand by me. The reason I kissed you just then was because it might have been our last" he said softly. He looked down then. Hermione was confused. Their last kiss? What had happened? Maybe Pansy had finally got to him, she thought resentfully. With this notion firmly fixed in her mind, Hermione coolly replied "Go on then. Break up with me. I suppose that Pureblood bitch is better for you anyway. You know Draco, I thought you were better than this, I thought you had changed." Draco's head snapped up with rage and hurt burning in his eyes. "Is that all you can think of! You know Granger, there are bigger things happening right now than us. There are people fucking dying out there, and you can only think of yourself" he yelled. Draco carried on, "I thought _you_ were better than that, but then again, you're only a Mudblood aren't you, you don't know any better" he hissed before he could stop himself.

The room blurred in front of her. She felt tears stinging the back of her eyes and before she could control herself, she let out a sob and put her hand to her mouth, to stop her retorting a reply that would only make things worse. Her heart was pounding madly behind her ribs and she felt like she was going to throw up. The tears were flowing freely now and she turned away so Draco wouldn't see what a mess she was. She felt light-headed and soon, her body felt weightless as she dipped under the table and crashed down to the stone floor as blackness consumed her.

After what only seemed like a few seconds, Hermione awakened to see Draco's head looming over her, with his fringe tickling her forehead and his eyes searching her looking for a clue to make sure she was okay. Hermione shrunk back in fear, still stung from his words. She leant up on her elbows, narrowly missing Draco's head and shuffled backwards to the nearest wall, breathing heavily and still feeling slightly ill.

"Hermione" he murmured. "Please, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said. I… I overreacted, I know I did. I'm calm now, I promise." Draco tried to hold Hermione's hand but she pulled it away and held it to her chest. She had never felt frightened of Draco before, but she didn't know what to think. Okay, so she had obviously got it wrong. But there was no need at all to call her that vile insult and she felt she had reason to be angry at him. However, at the same time she did want to know what was happening and why all this had happened in the first place. Drawing her knees up under her chin and holding herself, she icily replied, "Okay Draco. So what's going on?" Hermione decided to dig the knife in a bit. "As you so nicely put it, I'm just a little _Mudblood_ aren't I? Too dumb to understand."

Draco cringed and sadness filled his eyes. "Granger, come on, work with me here. Don't make me grovel; you know I hate to grovel. I spoke in the heat of the moment and you didn't deserve those cruel words" he looked down, then back up to her. She felt his eyes probing her own. "Please forgive me?" he asked. Hermione softened slightly at these words and after untangling herself, stroked his cheek and smiled encouragingly. "I accept your apology, but you really are scaring me. What's happened? Is it to do with the blood change potion? Did someone find out?" Hermione was nervous around him now, and she wondered if he could feel her apprehension.

Draco sighed then and straightened out. He leant back against the wall next to Hermione and closed his eyes in exasperation. "Hermione, I've been given a task by… You-Know-Who. He doesn't usually give these sorts of tasks out to those who haven't been branded with the Dark Mark." Hermione stared up at Draco's porcelain face with his eyes tightly closed. This didn't sound good.

Hermione whispered, "What do you mean 'these sorts of tasks'?" She dreaded to hear the answer and wished she hadn't asked. Draco sighed again, opened his eyes and stared intently at her. The words that came out of his mouth after he said this were barely audible and Hermione had to lean in slightly to hear him. "He wants me to kill someone Hermione. He wants me to kill… to kill Ron." Draco's eyes filled with tears then and his mouth puckered. But Hermione's mind was elsewhere. Ron? She gulped.

She suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to see her old friend. They still hadn't been on good terms since their argument, and while she was at The Burrow they had ignored each other. But she couldn't leave Draco here like this, could she? Hermione realised Draco was probably waiting for her to say something. But what could she say? Her boyfriend was supposed to kill her best friend. What does someone say to that? So all she said was, "I have to go now". Hermione got up, and ignoring the defeated looking Draco slumped on the floor, she shakily walked over to the fireplace and Flooed to The Burrow.

When she arrived in the kitchen, she stumbled out and banged head first into Ron. Before he could storm off, she pounced on him and hugged him tightly until his ears went red and his breathing was restricted. She didn't ever want to let him go.


	6. Chapter 6

~Draco POV~

That night while Draco lay sulking on his bed, he thought about all the things he had done and regretted. One of the biggest things was starting a relationship with Hermione. If he hadn't started anything with her, then all the other regrets wouldn't have happened. When she had left him in the Leaky Cauldron that evening, he was surprised and unsurprised at the same time. In a small part of his brain, he hoped that she would stay with him and hold him. They would get through it together maybe and try and figure out a plan. But unfortunately what actually happened was entirely different. She had left him, with no words or even tears. When Draco had told her his task, she made a swift exit without a second look. He had felt completely lost and it had taken him a while to heave himself up from the somewhat comfortable floor of the Leaky Cauldron and floo home to the cold and unforgiving Malfoy Manor. He should write a book on how to lose girlfriends, and top ways would be to first call your girlfriend a derogatory term, then next would be to make her faint and then the next way would be to say that he had to kill her best friend.

At Hogwarts, Draco had always relied on his reputation to get him through his relationships. People might think that that's an odd thing to say, but it was true. Any girlfriends that he had would tell everyone how amazing he was in a relationship and what a huge sex god he was, but in reality, he would treat his girlfriend more like a best friend and they wouldn't spend much time together unless they were sharing a brief snog between lessons. This would all be in public of course, just to raise his profile. As long as his 'girlfriends' were even slightly associated with the famous Draco Malfoy, they didn't care about the lack of relationship.

But with Hermione that had changed. He had ruined everything. The theory that 'Honesty is the best policy' was bullshit. He felt completely and utterly deflated and his emotions were… well he didn't really feel like he had any emotions at this current time. He felt like he was about to cry, but he kept trying to force the lump in his throat back down. His soul was like an emotionless abyss at the moment and he wasn't really sure where his mind was.

Sub-consciously he had blocked out all the memories he had with Hermione and his main priority now was to figure out a plan. He had to do something, with or without Hermione. These last few days he had been too emotional, and now he needed to become the cold and detached Draco Malfoy that his father had brought him up as. That everyone except Hermione best knew.

A crack of the sound of Apparition made him turn his head towards the door. Ceci the house elf was standing there looking as scared as ever. He didn't feel like being nice to elves today; that was too Hermione of him. He didn't want to be reminded of her.

"What is it?" Draco snapped. He could practically hear the house elf's knees knocking against each other and wondered why she was so scared.

"Master Draco, the Dark Lord has requested your presence in the Drawing Room. He said it is very urgent and that he has a surprise for you" Ceci whispered, with fear making her stumble over her words.

So this was it. Draco realised he probably should have left sooner than this as his parents told him to with the knowledge of being given this task, but telling Hermione had taken first priority. Another regret.

Draco sighed and dismissed the cowering elf. He looked at himself in the mirror and straightened himself into the stiff posture he had practiced so well over the years. He put on an impassive face and descended to the dreaded Drawing Room and with each step it got darker and darker.

He pushed open the doors and was met with that familiar long table which was now full of Death Eaters, his mother and father and the Dark Lord seated at the head of the table. All of the Death Eaters were facing him, their eyes cold and dead. Draco thanked Merlin that at least he was only feigning his lack of emotion. These monsters truly were dead inside.

"Ah, Draco. Please join us." Voldemort motioned to his usual seat between Narcissa and Lucius. Draco nodded to the Death Eaters formally and strode to his seat where he sat down. He held his head high and tried to ignore both of his parents either side of him.

"Draco you have been summoned because I have a very special task for you" Voldemort said. He opened his mouth to carry on, but the baby voice of Bellatrix Lestrange interrupted him and spoke with authority in her voice, "My Lord. I will do the task. I am prepared to do whatever you want me to. I will lay down my life for-" Voldemort rose from his seat and slowly walked to Bellatrix's chair. Draco and the other Death Eaters sensed the sudden tension and bowed their heads, each avoiding the others eyes.

"You dare interrupt me Bellatrix?" the Dark Lord screamed next to Bellatrix's ear. "You dare interrupt your Master?"

Draco's aunt shrunk down her seat and her greasy raven curls attempted to disguise her shame and humiliation. "No, my lord, I am sorry, it won't happen again" she whispered.

Voldemort stood up straight with a calmed composure once again. However, anyone could see he was aggravated and no one uttered a word or moved a muscle.

"Draco, you are to kill Ronald Weasley who lives in The Burrow. Along with the Muggle born, he is a key part in the Trio's plans to bring me down. If you do not complete this task, this time I will surely have your life" Voldemort said loudly, as if speaking to the whole table and not just Draco.

It helped that Draco had already heard about his task, so instead of being surprised and upset as was his original reaction, he was able to fake courage and strength and seem to be excited about this task. However the other Death Eaters were gasping and whispering around the table, darting envious looks towards Draco. How dare he, the one who did not have the guts to kill Dumbledore, be chosen for such a brilliant task?

"My Lord, you can trust me. I am honoured that you have chosen me after I once faltered under your command. I have grown more confident in my skills and I assure you that Weasley will die in the cruellest way possible and regret ever going against you" Draco replied steadily, ignoring his mother's whimpering next to him and her hand resting on his own underneath the table.

Voldemort's face lit up at Draco's fake speech and walked out the room, clearly finished with the meeting. The Dark Lord wasn't really one for goodbyes. At his exit, the Death Eaters descended on Draco like a pack of wolves towards a bloody carcass.

"Why should you get this task Draco? You are not even marked!" one Death Eater hissed.

"You are nothing to the Dark Lord. He probably knows you will not succeed so has given you this task because he knows it will kill you before it kills the Weasel" another mocked him.

Draco crouched in his chair keeping his eyes down and his lips in a straight line. Emotionless.

Narcissa spoke then, "You will NOT talk to my son like that. Come, Draco." Draco's mother stood up and walked out the room. Draco followed, with his father trotting close behind them and the Malfoys left the Death Eaters seething in the Drawing Room.

Draco and his father followed Narcissa out into the Entrance Hall until she rounded on them so fiercely that they both stumbled back into each other. "What are you playing at Draco?" she said with a dangerous tone to her voice, "You sounded very sure of yourself in there." Draco watched his mother's emotions flicker from sadness, to anger, to sadness again in just a few seconds.

"I have a plan, Mother. Rest assured that it will work. The Malfoy family will soon once again gain respect from the Wizarding World" Draco said clearly and defiantly. His father cleared his throat next to him and spoke with a shaky voice, "Does this involve killing anyone Draco? More importantly, does it involve killing Weasley?"

Draco was about to say something when they heard movement coming from the Drawing Room. The family turned their heads towards Bellatrix Lestrange storming into the room looking as insane as usual and her feet stomping across the fragile floor.

"YOU!" she screeched at Draco, "How could you get such an admirable task? You are NOTHING." Bellatrix stopped in front of Draco and if he wasn't taller than her, they would have been nose to nose. Her eyes were as black as coal yet Draco could clearly see the blazing anger within them.

Narcissa stepped between them and calmly pushed Bellatrix away from her son. Narcissa was the only one who was brave enough to stand up to the crazy witch.

"I'm sure Bellatrix, that you will be given a much better task than Draco. You are much more trusted under the Dark Lord's commands and with your brains, only you could match the Mudblood's intellect enough to kill her. If she is chosen to be killed, I am confident it will be you who will be chosen to do such a task" Narcissa said with finality ringing in her voice and avoiding eye contact with her shocked husband and son.

Although Draco had inwardly winced at his mother's harsh words, it seemed to console his aunt and Bellatrix was now smiling evilly and twirling her wand around her fingers. She was probably imagining ways she could further hurt Hermione than she already had, Draco thought angrily.

When Bellatrix had sauntered out with this thrilling idea in her twisted mind, Narcissa turned back towards Lucius and Draco. She looked up with affection in her eyes at Lucius and told him to meet her in their quarters. Lucius smiled slightly, nodded and proceeded towards their wing. Narcissa then looked towards Draco.

She touched his cheek and let it linger there for a second as she said, "Draco, I hope you know what you're doing. I will let you do what you need to do, but if you plan to do anything drastic that will affect any of the proceedings going on here or if you need any help, please let your father and I know. We care about your wellbeing and-" Narcissa then dropped her voice at what she next said, "-we want this to be over as much as you do. Someday perhaps" she said with optimism shining through her dark eyes.

Draco smiled sincerely at his mother. She had been his rock lately and he fully appreciated that. Maybe one day he could repay her for all of this.

"I have it under control. I'm going to my room now to sort out the plan. If there are any complications I promise I'll let you know, okay?" Draco said.

"Okay then. Well, I'd better go and see your father." Narcissa smiled up at Draco again and then walked in the same direction as his father.

Draco stood there for a few seconds, contemplating his mother's happiness. He could only keep up his stiff composure around everyone except his mother. His mother knew him inside and out and she brought out the best in him, whether she knew it or not.

He walked up the stairs slowly with his head filled with thoughts. Once he was inside the sanctuary of his bedroom, he sat down heavily on his bed and closed his eyes trying to clear his head. He needed to come up with a plan and it needed to not involve Hermione. How could he get away with not killing Ron? It was impossible. Draco walked over to his window and looked down. As he was looking out over the gloomy garden, he saw something in the corner of his eye on the window sill.

It was a small ornament of some dwarf from a Muggle film. Hermione had said its name was 'Grumpy' and he had remembered the glee in her eyes and her huge grin as he frowned at it with disgust. He kept it though because of the simple fact that it was something from her. She had touched it with those dainty hands of hers and thought of him at the time of buying it. That was enough for him to keep it.

Draco sighed at these memories and was about to venture into the library when an idea struck him. Muggle… He slapped his hand to his head, of course! Muggle! He sped out of his room and into the Malfoy library; he had a lot of work to do.


	7. Chapter 7

~Hermione POV~

It has been one week since Draco had told her that he had to kill her best friend. Seven days. One hundred and sixty eight hours. Ten thousand and eighty minutes. It has been… too long since she has spoken to Draco. They have gone longer without speaking, but this time, there are words left unsaid. She knows that she left too quickly and she knows that she shouldn't have left. But as soon as Draco had spoken those words, Ron became her priority. She loved Draco, but she loved Ron too. She just hoped nobody would ever ask her who she loved more.

Since she had gotten back, Draco had haunted her dreams. She had imagined Draco killing Ron; she had imagined seeing the flash of light shoot out the wand and hitting Ron square in the chest. She imagined herself screaming, and Harry holding her, with his wand pointed at Draco, ready to kill him. The dream ended when Hermione had to make the decision on who to save: Harry or Draco.

"Hermione?" Ginny gently shook Hermione from her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

She looked up at her red headed friend. "I was just thinking" she smiled weakly.

"About Draco?" Ginny asked casually, keeping her eyes on Hermione while taking a seat next to her.

"You know me so well" Hermione joked, then sighed and leant her head on Ginny's shoulder.

"What happened between you two? Please don't tell me you let Ron get in the-

"Leave Ron alone, he hasn't done anything, and he is not involved in this" Hermione interrupted harshly. Seeing Ginny's eyes filled with confusion and hurt made Hermione backtrack slightly.

"Sorry, I just… I'm not ready to talk about it. I need to see Draco. I'm going to go and owl him… Sorry again" Hermione said quietly, and got up to leave the room, leaving Ginny sitting on the threadbare sofa in the Burrow's living room.

Hermione was in her and Ginny's room trying to decide how to send a note to Draco. She couldn't use her real name, but she didn't want to remind Draco of her stupidity about the whole Pansy Parkinson thing. So, she decided to use Astoria Greengrass' name. Hopefully he would figure it out. Getting out her quill and parchment, she began to write…

'Draco,

No words can describe how sorry I am for leaving you in the Leaky Cauldron this time last week. It was selfish of me, and unfair on you. You cannot help what you have to do. I cannot imagine what you're going through, but I have had nightmares about the task. Draco, I wish I could say that whatever you decide to do that I will stand by you. But I will not make a promise that I can't keep. Please do the right thing; if you decide to do that and not stand by those people, then owl me. If not… then I'm going to be standing against you, beside my friend. Remember Dumbledore? He was a wise man Draco, and he once said "We must choose between what is easy and what is right". I know I'm asking a lot of you, but you need to find a way out of this. You need to.

All my love,

A. Greengrass

Hermione stared down at the note, and attached it to the Weasleys' new owl. Hopefully it won't be recognised, and since it's the evening, won't be seen either. As she watched it fly out of sight, the sound of Apparition behind her made her jump, and she felt two hands on each of her shoulders.

"We've come to cheer you up Hermione because we've noticed that you've been a bit down in the dumps lately" Fred said cheerily and looked towards his twin's equally mischievous grin.

Hermione turned around and looked at them warily.

"Me, you, George, Ron, Harry and Ginny are all going down to our shop and we're going to play a few games –

"Oh no you're not Fred!" his mother boomed behind them, with her hands on her hips, looking frazzled.

"I am making a nice dinner, and we're going to sit down and have a nice calm evening. You can play Exploding Snap later if you like though. But that is the most I am allowing!"

The twin's shoulders deflated as they trudged behind their mother and Molly followed them downstairs giving them orders. Hermione felt nothing but relief. Aside from the fact she wasn't in the mood for games, she was slightly nervous about what kind of games they would have been.

Sitting down on the bed, Hermione wonders how Draco will reply. She knows how much pressure he's under, but he cannot kill her best friend; he cannot kill her Ron. There's a knock on the door, and she takes her eyes off the wall to see Harry walking over to sit down on the bed next to her. He slips his hand in to hers and squeezes it in reassurance.

"Hermione… you'll never be able to change Draco you know" Harry starts cautiously, "Ron, Ginny and I are worried about you. I know that something happened at the Leaky Cauldron, because you've barely left the house since, and you're always checking up on Ron. Please tell me?"

She shook her head, "I can't. But Harry, when you do business for the Order, please keep an eye out for Ron… he's… clumsy" she lied, concealing the real reason that Harry has to look out for their best friend.

"Of course I will, I always do. But Hermione" Harry grew serious and looked her straight in the eye, "Just because you and Draco are together, I need to know you're still on our side. I need to know you wouldn't do anything to jeopardise what we're working for no matter how charming he is or what you think he can offer you."

Hermione felt slightly insulted that he even had to ask, but she understood his reasons as admittedly she had been acting weirdly. "Of course Harry, for as long as Voldemort is alive, I will stick with you". Hermione looked down as Harry looked at her oddly.

The plan to change her blood was meant to be done after Voldemort's demise. As soon as he was out the way, and she knew her friends would be safe, only then could she even think about the blood status potion. In the back of her mind though, she was glad the potion would be reversible. Just in case.

After Draco had told her about Cruor Statua, on the same day the Order got word that people were using it to avoid being put on the Muggle Born Registry Commission. It was lucky because the potion was only temporary and they only checked once. As far as she knew, the Death Eaters weren't aware of this potion, and she assumed Draco had found out about it from the library; he was intelligent like her.

Looking back up at Harry, she noticed his attention had been diverted by Ginny coaxing him towards her. She smiled slightly and nudged him to go with her. He nodded at Hermione, gave her hand another squeeze and went in to the arms of the female Weasley.

Sighing heavily, she squeezed past the love birds aiming to go in to the kitchen, went downstairs but suddenly got pulled in to the living room by Bill Weasley. He looked panicked and the skin around his deep scar looked red raw, like he had been scratching it in frustration.

"Hermione, you're still seeing Draco Malfoy aren't you?" he asked, trying to conceal the franticness in his voice.

"I… uh, yes, I suppose. Why, what's happened?" she asked worriedly, hoping Draco was okay.

"There's barely been any activity from him. We think he's planning something… something big. Usually he's out and about in Knockturn Alley and –

"Wait, Knockturn Alley? You must be mistaken, Draco doesn't… he doesn't associate with the Death Eaters anymore…" Hermione said quickly, trying to avoid the topic of what she knows he is planning, and the feeling of dread in her stomach.

Bill looked at her incredulously, "Hermione, he lives in the same house with You-Know-Who and they hold regular meetings there. It would be impossible for him to not associate with them. But that's not what I was asking, I was going to ask if you knew anything, anything the Order might find useful?"

She stared at him, her brain working hard at something to reply. Mercifully, Molly called for dinner.

"I am starving, shall we go and eat?" she said cheerily, then backed out the door and went into the more comfortable hustle and bustle of the dining room full of ravenous witches and wizards diving in to the freshly prepared food. Taking her place, she helped herself to some food and ignored Bill Weasley walking in. She ignored how he walked over to Arthur and whispered in his ear, ignored them looking at her suspiciously. She ignored it all.


	8. Chapter 8

~ Draco POV ~

A tapping on the window disrupted Draco's studying. He never received owls anymore, nobody remained in contact with him, so he was curious as to whom it was. Hermione would never risk it… would she?

Going over to the window, he squinted out in to the decreasing light outside and saw an owl that he didn't recognise. He got the letter from its leg and pushed the blithering bird off the window sill, its presence irritating him for some reason.

Tearing open the note, he looked straight towards who it was from. Astoria Greengrass. Why would she be writing to him?

It wasn't until he'd read the rest of the note that he understood exactly who it was from. He crumpled the letter up, got out his wand and quietly said, 'Incendio'. Watching the note shrivel up into ashes, he sat back down.

He had a plan; he was going to do the right thing. But he knew in Hermione's mind it wouldn't be the right thing. He knew what she would say, so he had to keep her out of it. He had to not contact her, had to hold himself back and stay on his side. She wouldn't understand. She will never understand the stress of having a Dark wizard living under your own roof, and having to commit crimes to be accepted. She will never understand him.

Pansy knew about him and Hermione. Apparently she had been in the Leaky Cauldron at the same time as them; he had no idea where as he hadn't seen her, but he was so wrapped up in his own life that day, he probably wouldn't have noticed a herd of centaurs storming through the room.

In a rare nice moment, she had promised not to tell anyone. But only if he publicly declared he was with her now. He had convinced himself it was to protect Hermione and that they never would have worked. Pansy had helped with the convincing.

He figured that if Ron was kept safe, then Hermione would be happy. The letter demonstrated that she cared more about him than Draco.

He would be with Pansy. He would carry out a task. He would restore respect for himself and his family, and Hermione… well, he wouldn't know, because once his task had been carried out, he intended to run. To leave like his parents said.

Because the task that Draco planned to do, was not the task that the Dark Lord had asked him to carry out.

~Hermione POV~

Another week had gone by. Owls were not like Muggle post, they did not usually take days to arrive, so she knew that Draco had deliberately ignored her. Ron had gone out on various missions and for some reason had had a few near misses with death. All she could deduct was that the Death Eaters were jealous that Draco Malfoy had gotten the task of killing him and wanted to get there first. While she desperately wanted Ron to live, she didn't understand what Draco was planning. What could be taking so long that he needed two weeks to send a simple killing curse to her best friend?

The Order had begun to act shiftily around her, and she knew they weren't telling her things, probably in the fear she would relay the information back to Draco, even though they must know by now they hadn't been in contact in days. Bill had obviously told them of their conversation and she didn't blame him. He was only suspicious because she had acted suspiciously.

She was sitting in the living room practicing the levitation charm on a cup when Ron walked in.

"It's like Charms class all over again" he said softly, smiling at her and sitting down opposite her.

Lowering the cup down carefully with her wand, she smiled at him affectionately.

"Still no word from ferret?" he teased, as she glared at him weakly and shook her head. He nodded and looked down, and she could sense that he had a question on the tip of his tongue.

"Hermione… if you knew something the Order didn't, you would tell us wouldn't you?" Ron repeated Harry's queries. "I know that you like Draco, but I also know for definite that you don't want any of us dead, and whatever you're holding back could be a severe risk to all of us. Please tell me, or someone, so that we can be careful and know what to expect."

It was time. She had to tell them. She hated going against Draco, but if he's ignoring her, and he's been planning for two weeks, then clearly he's picked his side. Like Harry said, she can't change him no matter how much she tries. He will never be good.

"Gather everyone here please, Ron. I want to tell all of you together." Hermione murmured, gazing at the fire, losing herself for a few seconds.

The house was suddenly alive with feet pounding down the stairs and doors slamming, all rushing to come in to the room; she was finally talking, Hermione was going to say what she knew.

The Weasleys and the Order were gathered in the small room, it was a tight squeeze and Hermione was in the centre, feeling all the eyes on her. Harry came up behind her, and put his hand on her shoulder, encouraging her to go on, to betray Draco's trust.

"The Dark Lord has given Draco a task" she started, as the group around her tensed and narrowed their eyes.

"But Draco isn't a Death Eater" Molly said in confusion.

"I know. I don't understand it either" Hermione said doubtfully. "The task… the task is to kill someone… one of us." She looked down at her feet as the group suddenly felt much closer and the walls seemed to be closing in.

"Who 'Mione? Harry urged, his grip on her shoulder even tighter.

She looked up to the ceiling, tears in her eyes, and then focused on Ron's sweet, sweet face.

"I'm sorry" she whispered.

Gasps were all around her and Molly rushed to cover her son, and hug him and kiss him, as if he were dying right this instant.

Ron looked shocked, until a look of determination came over him.

"I'll kill that ferret before he kills me, I will, I'll kill him" he growled. Molly just tutted at him, and so did everyone else, disapproving but understanding.

Harry stepped in front of Hermione.

"No, Draco is as much a victim of this as Ron is" he raised his voice over the shouts, "He is, no matter what you say" Harry turned towards Hermione. "Get him back Hermione, get him back and convert him to our side. I don't want to have to kill someone I grew up with, no matter who he is. I don't want Ron dead, but I don't want Malfoy dead either. Get. Him. Back" Harry begged.

Hermione nodded dazedly, and walked out the room, needing some fresh air. She felt an arm around her shoulder and shook it off, not caring who it was. In the corner of her eye, she saw Ron's defeated look as he wandered back in to the chaos. She needed to be alone.

A couple of hours later after everything had calmed down slightly, Harry came in to the kitchen where she was sitting staring at a glass of water, contemplating things.

"We're going out on a mission Hermione, just letting you know. It won't be dangerous, just a routine check on a possible house that the Death Eaters invaded, but they would have left hours ago. We just need to clarify whose house it was" he said.

Hermione wondered why he was telling her this as it was usually kept from her.

"Ron's coming with us"

She looked up in alarm and scraped back the chair.

"No, Harry, he can't. How can you let him now you know the risk he's under?" she yelled, pacing around the room.

"He insisted, but he's really in no danger, like I said this is a routine check, nothing's happened before" Harry shrugged.

Hermione looked at him, "That's not to say nothing will happen this time" she grumbled, knowing she had already lost.

"I'm sorry Hermione, he's coming. We should be back in a few hours" he said, and nodded at her as she heard them all trundle outside and the front door close. The house was silent once again.


	9. Chapter 9

~Draco POV~

It was at the crack of dawn that Draco had been told he was accompanying the Death Eaters on a mission. It was at the crack of dawn that Draco had been told he was to be given the Dark Mark. Nobody could understand it; the Dark Lord had repeatedly made it clear that Draco wasn't to be trusted, but he had obviously done something right.

He slowly put one foot in front of the other, walking towards the centre of the Entrance Hall. There was a circle of Death Eaters surrounding him, the Dark Lord standing in the middle. He was looking at Draco carefully keeping his emotions masked. He reached the centre; he reached Voldemort holding his wand out ready to be branded, like cattle.

Voldemort yanked at Draco's left arm and pulled up his sleeve roughly. Draco closed his eyes and whispered to himself, "I am ready". The coolness of the wand being pressed in to his forearm was immediately replaced by the sharp heat of the pulses of Dark magic rippling through his limbs. The pain was worse than the Cruciatus curse; he screamed out, yelled for mercy, scrunched his eyes and waited for it to end.

Suddenly, it did and Draco felt immense relief.

He opened his eyes, and nodded at Voldemort who dropped his arm, returned the nod and turned on his heel to walk out the hall, leaving him with the wolves… the other Death Eaters.

Draco turned round, ready for insults and mockery, but all that was returned to him was acceptance and a sense of equality in everyone's eyes. He basked in the new found glory, and as if on cue, a jet of sunlight streamed through one of the windows. This was right. This is how it was meant to be.

Some hours after the branding, Draco, Macnair, Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange were ready to go back to one of the houses they had previously killed some Muggle borns. They had to return because the brainlessness of Goyle Senior meant that one of them was left half dead, but still alive. Caution was necessary in case the Order had got word of it yet, and that's why the most terrifying Death Eaters had been ordered to go… plus Draco.

They arrived at the house and got to business straightaway. Macnair and Rodolphus went upstairs to finish the last of the family off, and Bellatrix started setting fire to various rooms of the house, skipping round like a mad woman. Draco kept watch.

Rodolphus came down the stairs grinning ear to ear, went out the front door and from the window Draco saw a light from his wand shoot up in to the sky and the Dark Mark suddenly filled the skies. As if on cue, sounds of Apparition filled the silence of the street and the Order of the Phoenix were descending upon the house. Draco was immediately involved in battle with Arthur Weasley, and while Draco kept sending various curses to him, Arthur just used defensive spells and blocked them. He grew frustrated, and tried to look out for Ron Weasley while using Arthur's strategy and just deflecting the spells.

"Draco! We've got him, back to the Manor, NOW!" Bellatrix screeched, and Draco and the Order all froze as they watched Ron disappear along with his Aunt and Uncle.

He became surrounded by a circle of wands, and Harry came in to the centre, his wand down by his side. Foolish, he was so foolish.

"Don't even think about it Malfoy. Hermione told us you plan to kill him. We can help you" Harry pleaded.

Draco felt guilty, but only for a second, because he knew he had no intention of killing the Weasel, but if his plan was to work, then nobody could know that.

"Sorry, Potter, not today" he smirked, and Apparated in front of the shocked and angry faces of the Order. They call themselves professional wizards, he thought to himself, yet they just seem like a bunch of do-gooders to him.

Arriving in the Entrance Hall, he sprinted to the dungeons as he could already hear yells; Bellatrix had got to him then.

"Enough!" he bellowed, "The Dark Lord gave him to me to kill, and he is already unhappy with you Bellatrix" Draco snarled, surprised at his confidence.

Bellatrix turned away from Ron who was now slumped on the floor, breathing heavily. She hissed at him like a snake and pushed past him to go out of the dungeons, stomping up the stone steps.

He kept his wand aloft, "I assume they have taken your wand from you?"

Ron looked up at him, hatred burning within his eyes. He turned his neck slightly and spat some blood out on to the floor. Draco grimaced in disgust.

"You assume right. Go on then, ferret. I know you couldn't kill Dumbledore, but I bet you've grown up since then, eh? Do your worst" Ron taunted.

Draco shuddered at the memory, and lowered his wand; Ron tried to hide his surprise and kept his scowl strong.

"You may be here for some time, I'll get you some water" Draco declared and started to walk back up the steps, closing the wrought iron gate behind him and locking it.

Ron felt a burst of adrenaline suddenly and tore after him, managing to grab Draco's collar through the bars and slamming him back in to the gate. Draco gulped and winced at the throbbing in his head. Before he could move away, Lucius had appeared.

"Let go of my son, your life is in his hands, and I don't know what he's up to, but I know that if the Dark Lord or anyone else sees you are still alive and merely residing in my home, then you will be worse than dead… and so will Draco. So I suggest you do as I say" Lucius warned him, keeping his eyes trained on Ron's.

Ron's grip only tightened.

Lucius pulled out his wand in one swift movement, "Alarte Ascendare" he said smoothly, and Ron was blasted to the dungeon's back wall.

Draco pulled his collar back to normal and nodded at his father in thanks.

"You seem to be asking for trouble recently Draco. Your mother and I ask you to leave, and you disobey us, and then the Dark Lord asks you to kill Ronald Weasley on sight, and you lock him up in our dungeons. What's your plan?" Lucius asked.

"I just want him to suffer before I kill him" Draco lied. He then went up the steps. After a moment's thought, Lucius also followed, still suspicious.

~Hermione POV~

She had been dozing on the sofa when the sound of panicked voices woke her up.

Running in to the kitchen where everyone was gathered, they looked at her accusingly. Her eyes filled with tears and she started shaking her head repeatedly. She didn't bother asking where Ron was.

"Is he…?" she croaked out.

"He was taken. By Bellatrix, so Merlin knows what state he'll be in by now" Arthur replied in a deadpan voice.

Her hand flew to her mouth and she fell on to a chair.

"I'm so sorry" she whispered, trying to make eye contact with someone, someone to reassure her; nobody glanced her way.

A fist banging on the table made the group jump, and everyone turned to see Harry, his eyes ablaze with anger and sadness all at the same time.

"I thought we'd have more time. I thought Hermione would be able to convince Draco not do it. I thought that since he's been planning for so long, that he would have taken just a bit longer" he ranted, and raised his voice, "This was not suppose to happen! We're going to get him back, we're going to go to Malfoy Manor and we're going to get him back! Who's with me?" He looked around, hoping for shouts of agreement, for approval, reassurance that everything was going to be alright.

Fleur stepped forward and placed her hand gently on his arm; Harry shook it off.

"Zat is too risky 'Arry, if we fight them in their own territory, they will win" she tried to convince him.

Bill pulled her back roughly, a guttural growl rising from him as Harry turned on her, his fists clenched and his temper slowly becoming out of control. Hermione got up, walked swiftly over to Harry and threw her arms around him.

"Let's go Harry, we'll convince them, just us two, we'll go together, I know I can persuade him" she breathed in to his ear. His posture immediately relaxed and he returned the hug, albeit half-heartedly. As she pulled away from him, they shared a look, a look to tell each other that they were going to sort it out. They would soon be the Golden Trio once again.

"I think I've convinced Harry that there's no point trying anything right now… but we should start planning something. Then we can go out as a group, and, and we'll get Ronald back" she said happily, hoping they didn't recognise she just wanted to break down there and then.

After the heated discussion, the group dissipated in to twos and threes, all trying to come up with their own plan to save Ron as soon as possible. It had been deduced that if Draco had been planning for so long, then he had no intention of sending a simple Avada to him, he was planning something else, at worst, torture with the help of his lovely aunt.

Hermione and Harry were sitting in silence in the kitchen, each with their own thoughts swirling around their brains. Hermione just couldn't wrap her head around the situation. She had genuinely trusted Draco, and never even considered that he would actually do anything. The thing that upset her most was seeing a small article in the most recent Daily Prophet that 'Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson are reported to be dating'. Godric knows why that's even news, even if it was only in a very small section. Hermione had assumed that Draco was better than that, and on the surface seemed her usual self, but inside she was hurting… badly. In Muggle science, she knew it was impossible for your heart to break, but until she was eleven years old, she didn't believe in witches and wizards either. There was no such thing as logic anymore.

"So you really think you can convince him then, Hermione?" Harry interrupted her thoughts. "Because at the house, I tried, I tried to tell him we could help, and he hesitated. I thought we'd got him, but then he suddenly reverted to his usual self and just… went."

Hermione didn't know. But she needed to lie, to keep Harry hopeful; to keep everyone hopeful.

"Yes, I think I can. But Harry, I've changed my mind, we aren't going to Malfoy Manor" she giggled suddenly, "I wasn't thinking straight. We can't exactly turn up on Voldemort's doorstep, and just…" she was in fits of laughter, and Harry started to smile and join in, "We can't just demand our friend back and get away without a scrape on us."

They laughed for ages at the thought of it, and by the end they were wiping tears from their eyes.

Speaking seriously now, she looked at him straight on, "We'll all go. You and I, the Order, we'll go to rescue him, but not to the Manor. We have to draw him out, and we know that Voldemort is all about theatrics, he likes to have his killings in the public and I don't doubt that it will be the same with Ron even if it's Draco… I mean, Malfoy that's doing the killing. So… we need to use something against him. Something we have that they haven't got… and we'll exchange what we have in return for Ron."

Harry looked at her in confusion, "But we don't have anything we can use, or anyone for that matter. Malfoy doesn't really have many friends, and his only family are Lucius and Narcissa, and Bellatrix… there's no way we're going near them. Besides, that isn't how the Order do things, we don't kidnap people to use in deals" he tried to stress.

"Then we're going to have to change our strategy aren't we" she murmured.

That night, she dreamt. She didn't have nightmares about Draco killing Ron; her dreams were full of memories. The first time her and Draco kissed, their outings to Hogsmeade, the jokes they shared, their quiet study sessions… it all seemed so insignificant now. The conversations about changing her blood status seemed like such a long time ago. Like Draco had said in the Leaky Cauldron, there were bigger things happening right now. She needed to stop being so selfish.

_A/N - This is my favourite chapter I think so I hope you enjoyed it!_


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N - SUCH a short chapter and I know that I could make this SO much better, but I just wanted to post it. Once I've posted all the chapters though, I intend to come back and change the content slightly to make it better. Enjoy!_

~ Hermione POV ~

Hermione spotted her in Diagon Alley. Pug-face Pansy Parkinson. She held back a feral snarl at the sight of her and started towards her, knowing she had the eyes of the Order on her back, all in various places around her.

"Pansy, how good to see you" she ground out, faking a smile.

"Oh, it's you. I trust you saw the Daily Prophet? Draco and I are so happy" Pansy smiled sweetly, her eyes mocking Hermione.

"I know how you can test if he's truly in love with you" Hermione started carefully, knowing she had to tread carefully round the Slytherin princess.

Pansy's ears pricked up at this. "Go on, then" she urged.

"Well… Draco's taken Ron hostage, and we want to… ask for your help in getting him back. Now, I know you don't care about Ron, but it's also a test to see if Draco chooses his task over you" Hermione then faked being upset, or so Pansy thought anyway, "He chose the task over me… but wouldn't you like to see if he chooses it over you? All you have to do is come with me, and we'll arrange to meet up and it will all be over before you know it"

Hermione crossed her fingers behind her back while watching Pansy digest this information. She and Harry decided the best way was to be truthful with her, but just twist it a tiny little bit to make it more appealing.

"Too risky, bye Granger" Pansy waved and was about to turn around, when she suddenly disappeared from sight. She heard muffled grumblings and sounds of a struggle until it went silent and the sound of footsteps walking away. Humming to herself, she backed out of the shop and walked down Diagon Alley, with members of the Order each coming out their hiding places, all smiles of satisfaction plastered on their face.

If she wasn't going to come voluntarily, then they would have to take her by force. It was an unfortunate thing to happen, but it was the only thing that would work. Besides, they'd make sure she wasn't hurt. If Draco didn't save Pansy and tried to get away with Ron, then they'd simply push her towards the back of the group and get her to Apparate to somewhere safer. They would then use their wands instead to get Ron back. Hopefully it won't come to that.

When they were back in the house with Pansy sent to sleep with a simple potion, Hermione started writing a letter from the Order to Malfoy detailing the deal and the meet up.

'Draco Malfoy,

This letter is to arrange a negotiation of getting Ron Weasley returned to us safely. We have Pansy Parkinson. Meet us at the Leaky Cauldron in two hours, alone, and we will do an exchange. Let's put an end to this.

The Order of the Phoenix'

It was short and simple and it got the point across. Hermione breathed deeply and attached the letter to the owl and watched it fly off.

"We're going to get things sorted you know" Ginny said softly, standing next to her. "But I don't think things will work out between you and Draco now. Not now all this has happened, you understand that, don't you?"

Hermione understood.

The Order was ready.

~ Draco POV ~

He knew this would happen. He had planned perfectly for it. He didn't know they would take Pansy but he knew that they would want to meet up to arrange some kind of deal. It just means they get to see him kill Ron. It means that the Dark Lord will be happy with him, and then he can leave England, go to France maybe.

He Owled back a reply that yes, he would meet with them and then went down to the dungeons.

Ron was slumped against the wall, his laboured breathing making Draco shudder. He couldn't keep Bellatrix away, so Ron was in quite a bad shape after a few Cruciatus curses.

Opening the gate, he walked in.

"It's time"

Ron simply nodded, too tired to retort a reply.

Draco arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, which was empty except for the landlord. Giving him some galleons, he ordered him to stay away for a couple of hours, and that when he came back the pub would be as he'd left it. Tom didn't want to argue with the infamous Malfoy so just took the money and ran.

Pushing the tired and bedraggled ginger boy down in to a chair, he waited with his wand drawn towards the door. It wasn't long before the Order arrived.

They came in a group, and he saw Hermione's face peep out at him from behind Arthur's shoulder. She didn't smile, she just looked towards Ron and bit her lip in worry, like she always does.

Draco had to keep up the charade.

"Where's Pansy?" he demanded.

A droopy Pansy was pushed towards the front of the group by Fleur Delacour, still drowsy from the sleeping potion.

"Dra-co?" Pansy said sleepily.

"It's me, Pans, you're safe" he said softly, noting the poorly concealed sob from Hermione. He felt so guilty, but he needed to get this over with. Then maybe he could patch things up. Maybe Hermione would forgive him… love him again like he still loved her.

"I'm afraid your attempts to get Ron back will be futile… I have been given a task to do this by the Dark Lord. Nobody refuses him. I don't want anyone to die, including myself… but this is what I've been told to do" he said sadly.

"Don't do anything stupid Malfoy, we don't want anyone to get hurt either. I stand by what I said, we can help you" Harry yelled, panicking about what was going to happen.

Hermione pushed forward, and stood a little out from the group.

"Please don't do this" she begged, "I know you're better than this"

Draco hated how sad she looked; he hated the deep black circles under her eyes, the way her collar bones jutted out. Had no one been taking care of her?

"I'm sorry, but I'm not" he mumbled, and in a lightning quick reaction he shouted the killing curse at the unconscious form next to him and swiftly Disapparated. The idiots hadn't put up any wards.


	11. Chapter 11

~ Hermione POV ~

"RON! NO! RON!" she screamed, joining the Order in running towards him. Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George were all sobbing over his body, and everyone was hugging each other, crying in to each other's shoulders: everyone except her. This was her fault. It was all her fault.

How could he? How could Draco do it? She hated him. She loved him but, Godric she hated him so much. Ron's expression looked peaceful, but nobody could accept he was dead.

"Molly, we have to tell Molly" Arthur announced, his face dirty with tears.

"And Ginny" Harry added quietly. So many deaths had happened to him over the years that he learnt not to grieve in public, not to show any weakness. Only Hermione knew that in private he completely broke down, and she knew that because she was usually the one to fix him. She wasn't sure she could do that this time.

The house was solemn when they arrived back. The Ministry had collected the body and promised Arthur to take care of it, and to bury Ron in the Burrow's nearest cemetery. It wasn't much consolation. He was still dead.

Hermione didn't want to remember when Molly and Ginny were told. She didn't think she'd ever heard such anguished cries come from a human.

She knew what she needed to do.

'Draco,

Meet me in the alley next to the Weasleys' shop. We need to talk.'

Hermione didn't bother signing it and sent the owl. Ignoring the strange looks from everyone she Apparated directly to Diagon Alley and tried to ignore all the happy witches and wizards, clearly still unaware at what had taken place not long ago. Five minutes later, she arrived at the alley, and sat down against the wall and finally allowed her emotions that she had been holding back to take over.

Her body heaved with suppressed sobs, tears rolling down her cheeks and her knees pulled up to her chin.

"I never meant for this to happen" a voice spoke softly from the shadows. Draco. "I didn't want to do the task… but it's okay, I sorted it."

Hermione had no energy to stand up. She just leant back and closed her eyes, until she felt hands around her waist, pulling her up into an embrace.

How was she leaning on the shoulder of her best friend's killer? She didn't know. But the familiar peppermint smell of Draco and the warmth of him kept her close.

"How did you sort it? You killed him, Draco. You killed my best friend" she whimpered.

He kissed her on her neck, and then on her ear, it made her shiver.

"No I didn't" he breathed.

"I saw you, Draco, don't lie when we all saw you" she sighed in exasperation, trying to tell herself to be more mad at him, to scream, to throw things, or just act how she's suppose to act.

"'Mione?" a voice croaked.

Hermione stiffened. "No… it's not possible" But it was. It was possible. Just like witches and wizards were possible, just like heartbreak was possible, just like it was possible that… Draco wouldn't kill her best friend.

Ron limped into view, with tired eyes but his usual goofy smile.

Hermione pounced on him, and felt his face with her shaking hands.

"How? I don't… I don't understand"

Draco leaned against the wall.

"I couldn't do it. It wasn't just because he was your friend, but I couldn't kill someone I'd grown up with"

Hermione held herself from saying he sounded just like Harry.

"I need to leave, the Dark Lord will find out soon enough and –

"Wait Draco, who did you kill if it wasn't Ron?" Hermione asked, holding Ron up now as he started to slump on her, exhausted.

Draco looked down, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I don't know, I tricked them into using Polyjuice Potion and… well it doesn't matter. I have to go… but Hermione, I love you, I do and I always will. It was never Pansy, it was always you" he said quickly.

He strode up to her, gently grabbed her face and pressed his lips against hers. A last kiss. For real this time.

_To be continued..._


End file.
